Validation of ELP Dosimetry Using PRESAGE Dosimeter

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Abstract

The purpose of this research is to validate the use of a PRESAGE dosimeter as a method
to quantitatively measure dose distributions of injectable brachytherapy based on
elastin-like polypeptide (ELP) nanoparticles. ELP has several useful properties for
treatment purposes, including the ability to be tagged with a radioactive element,
an inverse temperature phase transition useful for self-assembly into hydrophobic
aggregation upon injection, and a highly tunable threshold temperature based on the
amino acid composition and concentration. PRESAGE is a solid, transparent polyurethane-based
dosimeter whose dose is proportional to a change in optical density, making it useful
for visualizing the dose from a radionuclide-tagged-ELP injection. Initial experiments
with the gel phantoms demonstrate viability for assessing I-125 dose deposition, as
the image analysis showed the similar relative dose distributions compared with a
MATLAB simulation.